In The Dark
by I. B. Creeper
Summary: To fight the boredom of living in a small, isolated town, Sasuke heads out into the woods one night to hunt down a local legend. But what will happen when the legend proves very much real, and has marked Sasuke as its next prey? Yaoi, WIP, AU
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Just rewatched "Ginger Snaps" and this scenario sort of just popped into my head. Don't worry, there isn't going to be any bestiality stuff goin' on involving a certain demonic fox or whatever- nah, I'm not too into that. Instead, you get some fun twists and turns, cliffhangers, and smuttiness between everyone's favorite blond idiot and brunet bastard!

No fun in this chapter, just plot. If ya want fun, then stick around for the rest of this!

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><p><strong>Chapter 1:<strong>

It was just past one in the morning, and the woods surrounding the small town of Konoha were as quiet as ever. Nothing stirred in the gloomy light of the full moon, and the air was chilly and nearly unmoving. Only the slightest breezes disturbed the changing leaves of the trees. Two figures moved between the tree trunks, the taller of which was in the lead. The smaller carried a flashlight, pointing it out in front of them.

The silence was broken by the sound of the shorter figure tripping over a tree-root and letting out a half-shouted curse. The figure toppled forward and landed with a muffled thump, the flashlight flying from his hand and switching off on impact with the ground. More curses cut through the night air, coming from the fallen form.

"New places suck. This place sucks." Uchiha Sasuke grumbled under his breath as he sat up, brushing the leaves and dirt off the front of his jacket and grabbing blindly for the flashlight. Why was he always so friggin' clumsy? He always looked so pathetic, so desperate to be seen as flawless.. especially in contrast to his older brother, Itachi. Itachi was the perfect one, who everyone liked. Itachi was the smart, attractive, witty, _cool_ one. Itachi would never trip over a tree-root and fall face-first into a pile of rotting leaves...

Sasuke and Itachi's parents had unceremoniously uprooted them two weeks earlier and forced them to move to this small town in the mountains. Needless to say, the move was not appreciated. And now they were out in the dark, alone, looking for something that most likely didn't even exist.

Itachi came to a stop a few feet away, cocking one hip and crossing his arms across his chest with a sigh. His slim, tall frame was only slightly obscured by the charcoal gray jacket and dark-wash jeans. "I know, Sasuke. What the hell d'ya want me to do about it?"

"I dunno… maybe you could've convinced them to not move us out here. You're older than me, 'Tachi, so they'd probably listen to you more." The younger brother's voice and demeanor were sullen, contrasting the elder's bored indifference. Both were pale and thin, with straight sable hair and ebony eyes that caught the moonlight in their depths. Itachi's face was more angular and masculine, with sharp cheekbones and a stubborn jaw like their father. Darkly handsome and slightly menacing, he was only a year older than Sasuke but had always served as his protector.

Sasuke resembled their mother more, with a sweet, guileless face and large eyes that could be just as attractive as Itachi's if he didn't scowl so much. That contrast drove the younger teen insane with envy—he'd never be taken seriously with such a baby's face. He was 17, for Christ's sakes, and he still didn't have to shave! Itachi had started at 15...

It was just another thing he envied his brother for. Sometimes, he just wished Itachi would disappear, so he wouldn't have to be constantly reminded of everything he wished he could be…

Itachi didn't seem to notice the jealousy radiating from his little brother, since he answered normally. Well, as normally as anything that came out of the teen's mouth was. "Are you high? They don't listen to anything I say. Give it up. We'll just have to deal with it one step at a time.. try to find something to distract us. Like this whole mess." He leisurely adjusted the shotgun against his left shoulder.

"This whole mess" referred to incidents that had been happening in the town since they'd arrived. People's pets and livestock kept going missing during the night. The few which reappeared were torn to shreds, body parts strewn about yards and sidewalks like a careless child's toys.

Not only that, but there had been several sightings of something, lurking around the edges of the forest early in the morning and night. The people who had seen it said it looked sort of like a wolf, but it was humongous—about six and a half feet from its misshapen head to the tips of its multiple tails. No one had worked up the courage to get near enough to see it clearly, but there had been a few photographs. All that was captured in the photos was a blurred head, or a faint outline against the bushes—whatever it was had somehow managed to escape the eyes of the cameras.

That was why Itachi and Sasuke were out here, half past one in the morning, wandering around the frosty woods with a camera, a flashlight, and their father's shotgun—just in case they managed to find the "creature". Ever since they were children, the two brothers had been avid mystery-solvers, drawn towards the darker, more morbid things in life like moths to a light. This was just another diversion to them; a way to stave off the boredom.

Sasuke sighed, looking uncomfortably at his shoes. He was the one with the camera and flashlight—they'd both agreed that Itachi had better be the one with the gun, since he was the better shot of the two. Albeit grudgingly, on Sasuke's part.

"Whatever… let's hurry up and get this over with," he muttered sullenly, hating the way the woods were so silent other than the sounds of their voices. It made him feel claustrophobic—like the dark sky was pressing down around them. "You have the whistle still, right?"

The older brother scoffed and pulled said whistle out of his coat's pocket. "Of course. I'm not like you—I'm not constantly losing my things." He put the whistle to his lips and blew. Whatever angry retorts Sasuke might have voiced were cut off as a shriek eerily similar to that of a dying rabbit suddenly burst forth of the whistle. The sound ricocheted off the tree trunks and echoed out into the darkness, making the shorter Uchiha brother start.

Once the echoes ceased, Sasuke socked the older teen in the arm. "What the hell were you thinking? Why didn't you warn me before you blew it?"

"Because I wanted to see you flinch, of course." Itachi smirked, rubbing the spot on his arm that his baby brother had punched. His eyes scanned the shadows around them, waiting for any sign that something had heard the whistle.

Sasuke let out an exasperated noise and kicked at the ground. "Bastard! Why d'you always have to pick on me? Damn it, you _always_ just have to push me, don't you? Play tricks on me, make fun of me, humiliate me in front of my friends—"

"Quiet." There was no laughter in Itachi's voice now, startling the younger teen into silence. The older brother's brow furrowed as he tried to see out past the circle of light the flashlight cast. Something was out there. He could just barely hear the rustling of bushes, the snapping of twigs. A thrill of panic went up his spine as he realized that those noises were made by something big—bigger than he'd thought it'd be. "Turn off the flashlight." They were plunged into complete darkness.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Swallowing nervously, Sasuke moved closer to Itachi as quietly as he could. He could hear the noises, too… along with panting breaths that sounded anything but human. He almost yelped when something suddenly grabbed his wrist until he recognized it as Itachi's hand.

"Listen… I think we've gotten ourselves in over our heads. When I tell you to go, I want you to run as fast as you can." The older brother whispered softly, his words barely audible to Sasuke's ears. "Get home, lock the doors and wait for me. I'll distract whatever it is… delay it for as long as I can." As he gave the younger his instructions, the noises grew closer and closer. Both teens' hearts were beating erratically, their fear almost tangible around them as they started to realize what a big mistake they'd made in thinking they could do anything.

The sounds were only a few feet away now. Itachi shoved Sasuke away, shouting as he took hold of the shotgun with both hands and got ready to shoot. "Go!"

Sasuke turned and ran, terrified as… whatever it was… snarled and stopped trying to use stealth. He heard it crashing through the bushes, and Itachi was yelling at it. Swearing and cursing at it. The younger ignored the noises and spurred himself on, stumbling blindly through the forest in what he hoped was the direction of home.

A shrill scream and the sound of the gun going off behind him choke on a moan of utter fear and almost stopped, but he knew there'd be nothing he could do if he turned back. He kept running, sweating heavily despite chill air and the feeling of the cold dread flooding his system. Sasuke cried hysterically as he ran, trying not to trip over rocks and fallen branches, trying to block out the sounds of his brother's screams—until they suddenly cut off.

"N-no….. No, no, no, no…" He cried out, knowing what the sudden lack of screams most likely meant. He pressed his hands to his face, trying to smother the sobs. The cord that held the camera around his neck somehow broke and the camera fell away, but he didn't care. The despair and shock had taken him over, and all he could to was cry and run.

He was vaguely aware that something was following him now, and Sasuke abruptly changed directions, hoping to confuse the creature. Instead, he tripped again, this time falling over a log and tumbling down a slope, his body battering against rocks and the unforgiving ground until he finally came to a stop against a tree trunk, bleeding and bruised, but somehow no broken bones.

The brunet lay there for a moment, stunned, before shakily pushing himself up. He winced as all sorts of bruises let themselves be known, and blood was trickling down his neck from where he'd his the back of his head on a rock, mingling with his sweat. His face and hands and every other bit of him that had been exposed stung from cuts he'd received from twigs and sharp stones. Sasuke's head throbbed painfully and he let out a pitiful moan, closing his eyes and slumping against the tree trunk.

His dark eyes flew open again at the sound of movement nearby. Panic took over as he realized he'd completely forgotten about the beast—about his brother. A fresh flood of tears overflowed down his battered face as he drew back against the trunk. "No! P-please… I d-don't wanna die.. Please don't k-kill me…" Sasuke dissolved into incoherent babbling—alternately pleading for his life and despairing over his brother's death. He grew more and more panicked as the creature drew closer… and closer..

Surely… this couldn't be the end..?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: **

The crashing came to an abrupt halt right in front of the trembling teen. Eyes shut and cringing, Sasuke let out one last sob as he braced himself to be attacked. Nothing happened. Against his better judgment, the teen hesitantly cracked an eye open. For a moment his eyes wouldn't focus in the dark, but then he realized the reason he couldn't focus was because something was extremely close to his face.

"_Boo_!"

"Whoa!" Sasuke jerked away, forgetting momentarily about the tree trunk right behind him. With a yelp of pain, he clutched his head. In front and above him, he heard a strangled noise which then burst out in a shockingly loud laugh.

Itachi, alive and well, was standing in front of him. Laughing his ass off.

"Oh my god, you should see your face!" Itachi forced out between heaves of laughter, clutching at the gun as if it was the only thing keeping him from rolling around like a lunatic. "I knew this was going to be great, but I never thought you'd so completely fooled all the way 'til the end! Ah, jeez... Fucking priceless!"

Sasuke gaped at his brother, too stunned to even think. "What... the hell? It was _fake?_"

The older brother scoffed. "Of course it was. I just got so tired of you complaining about being bored, I decided to do something about it. Seriously, Sasuke... you can get so annoying sometimes!"

"So... the legend, all the weird stuff going on in town, the noises earlier, you..." The shorter brother choked on his words, anger starting to smolder in his chest, "Y-you dying back there, all of it was a lie?" He leaped to his feet. Before Itachi could react, one of the younger Uchiha's fists was connecting with his face. "Bastard! What the fuck is wrong with you? I was scared out of my mind!"

It was Itachi's turn to gape, one hand clutching his throbbing cheek. "God, Sasuke... It was just a joke. Calm down!"

"I will not 'calm down', you son of a bitch! I thought you died! You think that's funny?" Sasuke was trembling visibly now, hands clenched in fists at his sides. It was all he could do to not punch the asshole again, especially when tears started to well up in his eyes. He let out a choked sob and stomped into the darkness of the woods, unable to even look Itachi in the face.

"Sasuke, wait!" The older teen scrambled to his feet, hurrying after his brother. "C'mon, don't be like this. Would it make any difference if I said I was sorry?"

"Fuck you!"

"Damn it, Sasuke, slow down! We're going to end up lost-" Itachi's words cut off as he nearly walked right into the other boy who'd abruptly stopped in front of him. He stepped forward, taking Sasuke in his arms in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry, little brother. You know how I am- I always take pranks too fucking far. I didn't mean to make you this upset."

Sasuke hiccuped and buried his face in the taller Uchiha's chest, taking a few minutes to calm down. "You can be such a jerk sometimes," he muttered, the sound of his voice partially muffled by Itachi's jacket. "I really thought I lost you there for a minute. Don't ever do something like that to me again!"

Tentatively running a hand through the other's hair, Itachi sighed. "I won't, I promise. So..." Sasuke lifted his head, wiping tears off his cheeks with the back of one hand. "Does this mean you forgive me?" Automatically, Sasuke scowled and pulled away.

"Don't push it. I'm still mad at you." He dusted himself off and shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's really getting late now. Time to head home"

Itachi snorted as they started back the way they came, unaware something was tracking their every movement from the cover of nearby bushes. "If you hadn't run so far, it wouldn't've taken me so long to find you again."

"Well, if you hadn't been such a jackass, I wouldn't've run away!"

"C'mon, did you really think that legend was real? I mean, the farmers' animals are probably getting attacked by some random bear or something. There's no way those pictures were real."

"Of course I didn't think it was- wait." They stopped. Their watcher stopped, then slowly started slinking towards the two teens, staying carefully hidden. "What d'you mean, getting attacked? I thought you made it all up."

"Well... No, but it doesn't really matter, does it? These backwoods folks make up shit all the time to mess with newcomers-" A twig cracked, making them both flinch. Sasuke turned accusatory eyes on his brother.

"Itachi..."

"What? I'm not doing anything."

The rustle of something moving.

"Damn it, Itachi! You promised, so stop whatever it is you're doing!"

The older Uchiha spread his arms wide. "I swear, it's not me! Hey, it's probably one of the locals or something. I told you, they mess with city people all the time." He turned towards the general area the sounds were coming from. The watcher froze. "We know you're there, so knock it off! Leave us alone!"

Growling.

"... Itachi, maybe we should just keep walking-"

"No, now I'm annoyed!" Itachi took up the gun, planning to scare whoever it was away. "C'mon out, you fuckers! I'm armed and not afraid to shoot!"

Big mistake.

Roaring, a massive orange blur came shooting out of the darkness and tackled Itachi to the ground, the ebony-haired teen's head smacking heavily against the ground. The gun was ripped from his hands and tossed carelessly into the bushes by snapping jaws. It looked from the unconscious boy beneath it to Sasuke, standing paralyzed with fear only feet away. Its nine tails twitching agitatedly behind it, the monster took a single step towards the hyperventilating form, only to watch as the younger Uchiha's eyes rolled back in his head. Sasuke crumpled to the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This one's kind of short compared to the first two chapters... Sorry 'bout that!

**Chapter 3:**

When he came to, the first touches of morning were lending the darkness a peachy glow. Sasuke shot up into a sitting position, letting out a strangled squeak of pain as his head collided with rock. Disgruntled, he looked around and had the unpleasant realization that he had no idea where he was. It looked like some sort of low-roofed, slightly damp, moss-coated cave... but how could he possibly have gotten to such a place?

Then he saw the prone form towards the back of the cave, limbs splayed out, and the events of the night hit him with all the finality of a shallow grave.

"Itachi!" he whispered urgently, creeping on hands and knees as quietly as possible towards his brother. He took hold of the older teen's shoulder and shook him with a sort of insistent care. "Itachi, wake up! We have to get out of here before... before it comes back..."

There wasn't a response, other than a weak moan escaping unconscious lips. Alarmed, Sasuke checked the other over, suddenly worried about the blow to the head Itachi had suffered when the monster had attacked him. Sure enough, there was a golf ball-sized lump underneath thick, dark hair that was matted with blood.

It would be dangerous to move him... but what could he do? They had to escape. There was no _time! _Thinking fast, he grabbed Itachi's arm and dragged the other's limp body up into a fireman's carry. Hunched over and staggering under the weight, Sasuke started towards the exit at a painfully slow pace.

A scuffing noise stopped him mid-stride. Sasuke's heart stuttered in his chest as he got his first real look at the Beast of Konoha.

Its large, vulpine head hung low as it lumbered into the cave. Feet dragging, panting heavily, it didn't seem to notice the Uchiha brothers as it shambled into the cave and collapsed only a few feet away. Letting out a surprisingly pitiful whimper, its large blue eyes fluttered shut.

Sasuke stood perfectly still, hoping against hope that, maybe, the thing would fall asleep and they could leave. His bruised body ached under Itachi's weight, and he finally had no choice but to let the older teen slowly slide to the floor. There was a slight thud as he set him down, and Sasuke's dark eyes shot to the creature. Goosebumps spread over his skin as he saw those blue eyes were wide open again. They were staring right at _him._

He braced for an attack, but all the creature did was let out a half-hearted rumble and roll onto its back. Just as it settled again and seemed to be going to sleep, the morning light began to fill the cave.

There was a subtle shift in the temperature of the air, a strange feeling that reached into Sasuke's chest and made it hard to breathe. His eyes were riveted to the beast, because as he looked on, that massive form began to change.

It was shrinking, the orange fur growing shorter and finally dispersed altogether to expose perfectly tanned skin and a head of messy golden hair. The pointed face was reforming, eerily becoming more and more human. One by one the tails disappeared, and Sasuke wasn't looking at a beast at all. Instead, a strikingly handsome and very much _human_ young man laid out before him.

More importantly, he was now staring at a sleeping, very much _naked _strikingly handsome young man who had, until only moments ago, been a terrifying beast that was trying to kill him and his brother Or, at least, Sasuke had thought he was trying to kill them. Apparently not, considering that they weren't presently being digested or anything.

But still, he was staring at the- naked!- boy, and suddenly his pants were becoming uncomfortably tight. Blushing in alarmed shame, he quickly turned away, trying to figure out what the hell to do in light of these new circumstances.

And vehemently denying the fact that seeing that beautiful form draped across the moss-coated rock had gotten to him in more ways than one.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This chapter was really stubborn as I was writing it, and I think it kind of turned out weird... Anywho, someone needs to wash Sasuke's mouth out with soap! You'll see why once you've read this chapter XD Also, the term vulpes quis translates to, quite literally, "fox-man". It's a creature from some of my stories I've been working on for quite some time and it fit too well with Naruto for me to pass it up :P I'll explain more in detail as we go, but it's a shapeshifting fox. Oh, and Naru-chan's gonna be a bit OOC in this- he's not quite the rambunctious troublemaker we all know, but I hope you'll find him smexy enough to forgive the inaccuracy :D For that matter, neither Sasu-chan or Ita-chan are very in-character either... Ah, well XD

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><p><strong>Chapter 4:<strong>

_Okay, Sasuke, stay calm. Breathe. You're an Uchiha, right? You're smart enough to be able to think up a way out of this mess. Let's run the basic problems that need to be solved. Maybe if you organize it all in your head, you'll feel a little less panicky... Hah. Right._

After staring uselessly at the sleeping man... demon... monster... _thing_ for far longer than was healthy, Sasuke had finally managed to tear his gaze away, check to make sure Itachi was still breathing, and sit down to strategize. So far, so _not_good, but maybe listing what needed to be worked out would help after all...

_My brother is unconscious and needs to get to a hospital pronto. Fuck... bad place to start. I've already done the best I can with that remedial first aid training they gave all of us back in junior high. He's breathing without problem and the bleeding's stopped at least. Just gotta worry about brain injuries now... damn. Can't do much to fix that. Next one. _

His gaze involuntarily shifted to their... uh... host. _I'm stuck in a cave with some sort of weird shapeshifting creature that is rather conveniently blocking the exit with his freakishly gorgeous body... wait, what? I didn't think that! I swear, there's nothing at all special about those muscles... that tanned skin... that ass- okay, I'm done! I'm done! Now... let's see if there's a way around him. Maybe I could just, like, step _over _him or something..._

The teen crept over towards the prone body, biting his lip as he stopped mere inches from one long, perfectly shaped leg. Slowly lifting his own skinny, denim clad limb, Sasuke held his breath as he went to step over the beast...

… only to bite back a squeak of pure terror as it- he- let out a soft growling noise and rolled onto its- his- side, wrapping both arms around the teen's lifted leg and drawing it in closer to, in Sasuke's mind, gnaw on. But no, the golden-haired being simply... cuddled with it for a few moments before apparently slipping back into Dreamland with sinewy arms still wrapped quite snugly around its new toy.

A bead of sweat slowly rolled down the Uchiha's neck as he struggled not to move or make a sound. _Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK. Good going, Einstein! That was a _perfect _fucking plan, huh? And now you're stuck with a limb you kind of need to run _away _being used as a teddy bear by some mutant werefox thing that shouldn't even exist! Great story to tell the grandkids one day, huh? Asshole._

… He really needed to get out of the cave. There was no telling how much longer he could put up with being verbally abused by his own subconscious.

_Gotta extract my leg... _Sasuke let out a very small, very disgruntled noise as he tried to pull it free, only to have the grip tighten. _Damn... I think... I might be able to slide it free if he didn't have a hold of my jeans... _An idea popped into the teen's head, one that would be entirely too embarrassing but it could actually work if he moved carefully enough. Looking around, he spotted a tree limb that was roughly the same width as his calf.

He sort of hopped on his free leg towards it a bit and crouched down, straining for the piece of wood with all his might at the same time as trying _not _to move his other leg. A muscle twinged in his lower back, causing one long-lashed eye to twitch at the unexpected pain, but he did at least manage to get a hold on the branch. Now, if he could just pull his leg out of the pants and replace it with the stick fast enough... maybe his captor wouldn't notice...?

Now that he had a plan- albeit a truly idiotic and risky one- Sasuke could at least breathe a little easier. That is, until he turned back towards the beast to try and implement his plan only to see those bright eyes wide open and completely focused on _him. _And to make matters worse, there was an amused glint in with the blue, as if the creature knew exactly what the Uchiha was thinking. One tanned hand lifted and casually grabbed the stick, easily pulling it from Sasuke's suddenly weak grasp. Letting out a little noise of utter fear, the teen suddenly wished he'd just conked the blond over the head while he'd had the chance and run away. Too late for that, apparently.

And then the thing's full lips parted, but instead of some sort of animalistic sound, he began to speak in a smooth, deep rumble.

"You really aren't very smart, are you?"

Later on, Sasuke would vehemently swear that the sound he'd let out at that point was _not_ a scream, but at the moment he was too shocked and scared to think very clearly. _It talked. It _talked! _Oh man oh man oh man, I'm so screwed! I gotta get away! FUUUCK! _He turned blindly towards the back of the cave, the only direction that wasn't now blocked off by the man, and tried to run. Of course, running kind of requires two legs and he'd completely forgotten that one of said limbs was still being held by the now-laughing menace.

He lost his balance and fell hard, unable to breathe for a moment as his chest connected with the ground. Laying there, stunned, all he could hear was that rich chuckle behind him. A tug on his ankle quickly woke him up, though, and he instinctively kicked back. The creature swore and let go, giving Sasuke the chance he needed to crawl away.

_Shitshitshit... Where's the fucking gun? _He got to his feet and looked around frantically but with no avail. He reached for a rock, only to have his wrist grabbed from behind. Warm breath puffed against the back of his neck and Sasuke drove his elbow back, bent on trying to hit the beast in the solar plexus. It didn't work, though, because suddenly it wasn't just his hand being held in place. Those strong arms were wrapped around his torso, holding him quite effectively immobilized.

The breath moved from his neck to his ear, causing a shiver to run down his spine. "Now why'd you have to go and kick me?" Sasuke's heart stuttered to a stop at the murmur, the warm line of the man's body against his back. A blush broke out on his face as he remembered that the creature was, in fact, _naked._ He started to thrash around, trying to break free. It didn't work.

"Of course I kicked you!" the teen finally burst out, trying to look back at the blond. "Given half a chance, I'd do it again! You kidnapped me, you hurt my brother, and now you're acting like this? Fuck you! I don't know who or what you are, but what the hell is going on?"

"_Vulpes_ _quis._"

"... What?"

The man chuckled. Sasuke was starting to hate that sound with a deep passion. It made him feel... strange. "It's what I am. Wasn't that one of your questions? I'm a shapeshifter, of sorts. During the day, I'm human, but under moonlight my true form comes out and my baser instincts tend to take over. Which is why I attacked your brother when he tried to shoot me. I didn't mean to hit him quite that hard, so I hardly could leave him out there to die, now, could I?" He sniffed at the teen's skin, much to the obvious discomfort of the body currently struggling to get free of his arms. "And as to why I brought you back here... You smell really good, did you know that?"

The brunet snarled and tried to kick the man in the shins, but his flailing feet were easily dodged. "L-let me down!" he demanded, ashamed that his voice shook but he couldn't allow the blond to hold him any longer- there was something too right in the feel of the other's body pressing against his own and it was making it really hard for him to breathe normally. He had to get away...

"Ah, but don't you want me to answer your other question?"

That stopped Sasuke for a moment. He blinked in confusion. "_What_ other question?"

"I've told you why you're here, what I am... but not _who_. Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Why would I? It doesn't matter! Hell, if I don't know who you are then you won't have any reason to come kill me when I get away and run back to town!"

There was silence for a moment, and then the blond burst out in some of the loudest, most irritating laughter Sasuke had ever heard. He was set back down on his feet and the arms around him let go. He quickly turned around to face the obviously insane man, quickly averting his eyes at the sight of his unclad form.

"Kill you? You thought I was going to _kill_ you? And what, _eat_ you, like some unthinking monster?" He dissolved into laughter again, causing Sasuke to start slowly backing away until he tripped over Itachi and fell on his ass, legs draped over his brother's unconscious body. He looked down at the older teen's face, a stray thought crossing his mind that it was amazing Itachi could still be out with the way the fox-man was cackling.

Finally, the man seemed to get himself under control although he was still grinning broadly. "Ah, man... you're funnier than I thought you'd be, silly little Sasuke." The brunet's eyes widened comically. How did the freak know his name? He made the mistake of looking up at the blond, and suddenly he was trapped in the gaze of those bright blue eyes, unable to look away or move at all as the man casually walked towards him.

"It's quite simple, really." The shapeshifter crouched down in front of Sasuke, far too close for comfort. His beautiful face was only an inch or so away from Sasuke's. Blue stared into brown, golden skin so close to pale alabaster that the teen could yet again feel the unnatural heat that seemed to radiate from the other's form. His heart was beating wildly in his chest, and for a moment he forgot how to breathe. All he could do was feel the _vulpes_' presence shining down on him and listen to that deep, overwhelming voice.

"I, Uzumaki Naruto, want you, Uchiha Sasuke, as my mate."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I already that the first 4 chapters of this story written and posted elsewhere, but this one has been sitting waiting for me to finish it for about a month and a half. My reviewers on AFF were probably getting annoyed with me D: But it's finally done, and while it's quite a bit shorter than chapter 4, I suppose it's better than nothing!

As per usual, reviews give me warm and fuzzy feelings inside and make me a better and faster writer... Just a hint ;) Love y'all!

**Chapter 5:**

"I, Uzumaki Naruto, want you, Uchiha Sasuke, as my mate."

It took a few moments for those words to actually have any meaning to Sasuke's already confused head, and all at once a barrage of thoughts began to race around in circles, each one screaming a protest against the blond's statement. The first one to become clear popped out of the teen's mouth before he could stop it.

"But... We're both guys! We can't have babies!"

Naruto smiled indulgently, obviously enjoying being able to act superior. Even through the mess of conflicting thoughts, Sasuke could register his irritation with the _vulpes_. One large hand raised to push a rogue strand of dark hair back behind the teen's ear, and the Uchiha had the almost overwhelming urge to bite into tanned flesh just to wipe that smirk off the blond's face.

"Actually, there is a rather complicated ritual known by my people that can make it possible, but now's hardly the time to be discussing that. Don't you think you should maybe stop sitting on your brother? He _is_ injured, after all." He offered a hand up, but Sasuke only glared at him and scrambled to his feet on his own before carefully checking the older Uchiha over.

"Yeah, and whose fault is it that he's like this, hmm?"

"Little boys shouldn't be running around the woods at night, waving guns that they don't know how to use properly." Came the smug reply. So much for being apologetic.

"Weird shapeshifting monsters shouldn't even exist, asshole! And don't act like you're smarter than me! Have you even been to school?"

"Actually, I got my Masters in ornithology two years ago."

"... Liar! That's impossible! You can't be much more than a year older than me!"

The smug smile widened into a full grin. "_Vulpes_ physically age differently from humans. I'm about 54 in human years... Something like 18 in ours."

Sasuke opened his mouth to blurt something out about being old and creepy, but Itachi chose that moment to groan and shift his head slightly, revealing a slowly growing puddle of blood under him. At some point while they were talking, the wound on the back of the Uchiha's head had apparently opened back up.

The younger brother swallowed nervously and went to the prone teen's side, wrapping his fingers around one pale wrist. The pulse there was fluttering, and Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, much more worried now. "Damn it, he really needs to get to the hospital..." He looked up at Naruto helplessly, calculating the odds that he'd actually let them go so he could get Itachi help. It didn't seem likely.

The blond looked on, chewing on his lower lip. He may be a lot of things- manipulative, greedy, and stubborn to name a few- but he generally didn't let people die if he could help it. And this case was kind of his fault... but he really didn't want to risk Sasuke getting away before he'd even had a chance to woo him... An idea clicked in his head and the smile came back, albeit faint.

"How about this- I'll take your brother back to town and leave him somewhere he'll be found quickly. In return, you'll stay put and talk to me when I get back. I..." he paused and studied Sasuke for a moment, a glint in his eyes sending a shiver down the teen's back, "I think I want to get to know you a little more before I decide just what to do with you."

Well, that wasn't exactly the most horrible outcome possible, although the last part was a little questionable... Sasuke thought it over for a moment before quickly nodding his head. After all, as soon as Naruto had left, he could always just run away and, even though he had no idea where they currently were, eventually he'd surely find his way back. They couldn't be _that_ far away, after all... And Itachi really did need medical attention. "... Okay, I'll stay here."

"Do you promise?"

"... Yes."

Naruto's face split into a dazzlingly bright grin and, for a moment, Sasuke actually felt a little bad for deceiving the _vulpes_, but he pushed away the hint of guilt as he watched the blond approach the unconscious brother's side. The ease with which he lifted Itachi was a little alarming- Naruto draped the limp body over his shoulder as if the taller teen weighed no more than a pillow. Sasuke swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry as he reminded himself not to stare at those muscles moving under all that perfectly tanned skin.

And then that body was suddenly extremely close, and the Uchiha had to stifle a yelp as he scrambled back, face bright red as Naruto crouched in front of him. The brunet covered his face in embarrassment as that warm chuckle came to his ears yet again, making heat rise to his cheeks. Did the guy not realize he was naked? What the hell was he doing, getting so close like that?

A warm hand settled on his head and Sasuke peeked between his fingers at the _vulpes_. Naruto smiled at him again and leaned forward to whisper in the teen's ear even as he tried to squirm away. "Remember your promise, Sasuke. I'm gonna be annoyed if I come back and you aren't here waiting for me."

Sasuke didn't have a chance to reply before the presence above and in front of him suddenly disappeared, leaving him blinking in confusion as he stared at where the blond's beautiful face had just been only a moment before. He stayed where he was for some time, trying to sort through the jumble of emotions Naruto had managed to stir up within him.


End file.
